User:Josiah.minner/sandbox

Gunpowder
There is historical evidence that Chinese formulations of gunpowder were experimented with greatly. The experimentation likely derives from the varied uses of the compound, primarily as an incendiary. The Chinese used such incendiary devices in siege warfare against the Mongols towards the end of their reign. "Pots with wicks of flax or cotton were used, containing a combination of sulfur, saltpeter (potassium nitrate), Aconitine, oil, resin, ground charcoal and wax." Joseph Needham argued that by the mid-thirteenth century, the Chinese were able to destroy buildings and walls using gunpowder. Such experimentation was not present in Western Europe, where the combination of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal were used exclusively for explosives and as a propellant in firearms. What the Chinese often referred to as the "fire drug" arrived in Europe, fully fleshed out, as gunpowder.

Early Guns and Artillery
The fire lance, the predecessor of the gun, was invented in China between the tenth and eleventh century. The barrel was originally designed out of bamboo shoots, later with metal. Joseph Needham notes "all the long preparations and tentative experiments were made in China, and everything came to Islam and the West fully fledged, whether it was the fire lance or the explosive bomb, the rocket or the metal-barrel handgun and bombard." By the 1320's, Europe had guns, but the exact time and method of migration from China remains a mystery. Evidence of firearms is found in Iran and Central Asia in the late fourteenth century. It was not until roughly 1442 that guns were referenced in India. Reliable references to guns in Russia begins around 1382.

An illustration of a "pot-shaped gun" found in the Holkham Hall Milemete manuscript dated to 1326 shows earliest advent of firearms in European history. The illustration shows an arrow, set in the pot-shaped gun pointed directly at a structure. Archaeological evidence of such "gun arrows" were discovered in Eltz Castle, "dated by relation to a historical event (a feud with the Archbishop of Trier in 1331-36 leading to a siege), seem to confirm again that this was at least one of the types of Milemete used in these very early examples."

The best evidence of the earliest gun in Europe is the Loshult gun, dated to the fourteenth century. Discovered in 1861, the Loshult was made of bronze measured 11.8 inches in length. A replica of the Loshult was created, using similar gunpowder compounds with present day materials, to determine the effectiveness of the weapon. The Gunpowder Research Group, who designed the recreation, found that at high elevations, the Loshult could fire as far as 1300 meters. Though inaccurate, missing targets further than 200 meters, the Loshult could fire a range of projectiles such as arrows and shot. It was determined that the Loshult could be effective fired at ranks of soldiers and structures.

Written works from the Cabinet des Titres of the Imperial Library of Paris find evidence of canons in France in 1338. The works illustrate canons being used on-board ships at the Rouen during that time. "...an iron Fire-arm, which was provided with forty-eight bolts, made of iron and feather; also one pound of saltpetre and half a pound of sulphur to make the powder propel arrows."

The sizes of these canons, and others like it are hard to determine, outside the artifacts recovered. Sir Henry Brackenbury was able to surmise the approximate size of these canons by looking at receipts for both firearms and the corresponding gunpowder purchased. These receipts show a transaction for "25 Livres for 5 canons." Brackenbury was able to deduce, when corresponding the costs of the canons and the gunpowder apportioned, that they each iron cannon weighed approximately 25 lbs, while the brass cannons weighed roughly 22 lbs.

Philip the Bold (1363-1404) is credited with creating the most effective artillery power in Europe in the late fourteenth century, effectively creating the Burgundian estate. Philip's development of a large artillery army made the small country a reputable force against larger empires such as England and France. Philip had achieved this by establishing a large scale artillery manufacturing economy in Burgundy. Philip used his new cache off artillery to help the French capture an English-held fortress of Odruik. The artillery used to take Odruik used cannon balls measuring to about 450 pounds.

Large artillery was a major contributing factor to the fall of Constantinople at the hands of Mehmed the Conqueror (1432-1481). Having resigned his position as ruler due to youth and inexperience in 1446, Mehmed moved to the Ottoman capital of Manisa. After his uncle, Murad II died in 1451, Mehmed once again became Sultan. He turned his attention to claiming the Byzantine Capital, Constantinople. Mehmed, like Philip, started mass producing cannons by enticing craftsmen to his cause with money and freedom. For 55 days, Constantinople was bombarded with artillery fire, throwing cannon balls as large as 800 lbs at its walls. On May 29, 1453, Constaninople fell into Ottoman control.

Early Firearm Tactics
As guns and artillery became more advanced and prevalent, so to did the tactics by which they were implemented. According to Historian Michael Roberts "...a military revolution began with the broad adoption of firearms and artillery by late sixteenth-century European armies." Infantry with firearms replaced cavalry. Empires adapted their strongholds to withstand artillery fire. Eventually drilling strategies and battlefield tactics were adapted for the evolution in firearms use.

In Japan, at the same time during the sixteenth-century, this military evolution was also taking hold. These changes included a universal adoption of firearms, tactical developments for effective use, logistical restructuring within the military itself, and "the emergence of centralized and political and institutional relationships indicative of the early modern order."

Tactically, beginning with Oda Nobunaga, the technique known as "volleying" or countermarch drills were implemented. Volley fire is an organized implementation of firearms, where infantry are organized in ranks. The ranks will alternate between loading and firing positions, allowing more consistent rates of fire, preventing enemies from taking over a position while a member reloads.

Historical evidence shows that Oda Nobunaga implemented his volley technique successfully in 1575, twenty years before evidence of such a technique is shown in Europe. The first indications of the countermarch technique in Europe was by Lord William Louis of Nassau (1538-1574) in the mid 1590's.

Korea also seemed to be adapting the volley technique, earlier than even the Japanese. "Koreans seem to have employed some kind of volley principle with guns by 1447, when the Korean King Sejong the Great instructed his gunners to shoot their 'fire barrels' in squads of five, taking turns firing and loading."

This was on display during what Kenneth Swope called the First Great East Asian War, when Japan was trying to take control and subjugate Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) made a failed invasion of Korea, which lasted six years, eventually pushed back by the Koreans with the aid of Ming China. Japan, using overwhelming firepower, had many early victories on the Korean peninsula's. Though the Korean's had similar manpower, "the curtain of arrows thrown up by defenders was wiped out by (Japanese) gunfire." After the Japanese were finally pushed back in 1598, sweeping military reforms took place in Korea, largely based on updating and implementing the volley technique with firearms.

It was Qi Jiguang, a Ming Chinese General that provided the original treatise, disseminated to Koreans, that aided in this venture. In these manuals, Qi "...gave detailed instructions in the use of small group tactics, psychological warfare, and other 'modern' techniques." Qi emphasized repetitive drilling, dividing men into smaller groups, separating the strong from weak. Qi's ethos was one of synthesizing smaller groups, trained in various tactical formations, into larger companies, battalions and armies. By doing this they could "operate as eyes, hands, and feet..." aiding to overall unit cohesion.

International Trade
International trade was the driving motivator behind advancements in global transportation in the Pre Modern world. "...there was a single global world economy with a worldwide division of labor and multilateral trade from 1500 onward." The sale and transportation of Textile, silver and gold, spices, slaves and other luxury goods throughout Eurasia, Africa and later the New World would see an evolution in overland and sea trade routes.

Navigational Advances and Magnets
The thirteenth century saw the rise of the magnetic compass for overseas travel. Prior to its creation, seamen would have to rely on landmarks and stars as guides for navigation. The compass allowed sailors to plot a course, and using magnetic north as a reference, could travel through fog and overcast. This also led to shorter voyages, as they could plot more linear approaches to destinations. Portolan chart s rose up, plotting this linear excursion routes, making sea navigation more accurate and efficient.

In 1569, the Mercator chart was designed by stretching the circular earth onto a flattened map.

The Sun, Moon and Stars
The origins of using the stars for navigation is as yet unknown. As far back as 1300 BC, ancestors to the present day Pacific islanders, the Lapita, made long sea voyages from Northeast New Guinea to remote islands across the Pacific. These descendant Pacific Island cultures use astrological navigation techniques, lending to the idea that such practices may have been used by the Lapita.

Odysseus was noted for using stars as guides during his travels in Homer's Odyssey. Though a work of fiction, the detail lends to the idea that European navigation used such techniques as far back as 800 BC. As people developed an understanding of a spherical Earth, concepts of Latitude and longitude were created.

Cultures and civilizations had vague notions of latitude and longitude in ancient times, but they are not depicted on nautical charts as late as the fourteenth century. During the Middle Ages, while Islamic scientists continued to advance the Greek concepts of latitude and longitude, cultures referenced them largely for astrological purposes.

The Toledan Tables, created and organized by Arab scientist Al-Zarqali, were used to calculate latitudes and longitudes. Latitudes can be found from shadows cast by a stick placed in the ground. Taking the ratio of the length of the shadow cast by the length of the side adjacent (stick), we can determine the value of the tangent. Tangent values can then be converted to latitude projections. In AD 860, Arabs had developed tables of tangents, from which latitude can be calculated with precision. To determine longitudes, a navigator need to convert a known distance to an angle, using the radius of the earth. Eratosthenes created the first known value of the radius of the earth. In AD 830, Al-Ma'mun extrapolated the most commonly used values of longitude by converting distance.

The motion of the Sun and the Moon allows navigators to more accurately plot both where they are as well as where they are headed. Early on, navigators could use the sun, known to rise in the East and set in the west, as a way to navigate direction of travel.

Astronomical charts helped create calendars and were used when describing the relation of the Earth to the Heavens. Muslim scholars furthered the fields of Astronomy, which filtered back to Europe. By the fifteenth Century, the Portuguese began adapting these astronomical tables for use in sea navigation. Because of their fixed positions in the sky, they became advantageous markers for travelers that were able to quickly and accurately identify them. A navigator, imagining the night sky as fixed positions on a globe, would be able triangulate their position and, as a result, map out their routes. The use of the correlation of mapping fixed points in the sky and locations on Earth is known as celestial navigation.

Latitude and Longitude gives an individual their fixed position on Earth. Tables of latitude and longitude were created for navigators to have quick reference to when traveling long distance. The movement of the stars will be observed differently depending on a navigators latitudinal location. Arab mathematician al-Jayyani created mathematical formula for mapping the motion of the stars in AD 1060. With a clock, a traveler can use the altitudes of the known stars they are following to find their latitude.

As far back as AD 1000, with the explorations of the Norse, evidence can be found that travelers used the path of the sun as a guide. Because of the low line of the Sun found in Greenland and Iceland, time could be estimated by referencing the suns position with landmarks on Earth. They would break the day into eight equal parts, as opposed to a traditional 24 hour day, each part referenced by a known direction. "The path of the Sun at the latitudes in Icelandic settlements gives positions at different times of the day that mirror the eight divisions of the horizon into north (midnight), northeast (ótta), east midmorning), southeast (dagmál), south (hádegi), southwest (ekyt), est (miðaftann) and northwest (náttmál)."(P. 172) Leif Eiriksson was cited as having his men travel in known directions based on these given positions of the sun.  It was by this method of travel that it is believed he located the Northeastern shores of North America.

Knowledge of the length of the day is still used in the modern military age. Since the end of WWII, the United States Air Force has had a fleet of quick response, long-range bombers, designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world at any time. As a survival technique, airmen are taught how to navigate their surroundings in the event of an accident, causing them to bail out. With just a watch and the ability to mark the times for sunrise and sunset, they are able to find their latitude from a manual that is standard issue. The manual has in it a full-page nomogram that, when combined with knowledge of the day of the year, allows them to determine their latitude.

Latitude and Longitude
Cultures and civilizations had vague notions of latitude and longitude in ancient times, but they are not depicted on nautical charts as late as the fourteenth century. During the Middle Ages, while Islamic scientists continued to advance the Greek concepts of latitude and longitude, cultures referenced them largely for astrological purposes.

The Toledan Tables, created and organized by Arab scientist Al-Zarqali, were used to calculate latitudes and longitudes. Latitudes can be found from shadows cast by a stick placed in the ground. Taking the ratio of the length of the shadow cast by the length of the side adjacent (stick), we can determine the value of the tangent. Tangent values can then be converted to latitude projections. In AD 860, Arabs had developed tables of tangents, from which latitude can be calculated with precision. To determine longitudes, a navigator need to convert a known distance to an angle, using the radius of the earth. Eratosthenes created the first known value of the radius of the earth. In AD 830, Al-Ma'mun extrapolated the most commonly used values of longitude by converting distance.

A Prime Meridian is needed as a reference point for all longitudes, valued as zero.